


Oliver Queen, The Bachelor

by indeepthought



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Feast of Dates, Fluff and Angst, Homophobic Language, Humor, M/M, Sara is not Laurel's sister!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:00:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6440350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indeepthought/pseuds/indeepthought
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Thea convinces Oliver Queen to be The Bachelor and he actually does it. When the vigilante thought this couldn't get crazier, the TV show production surprises him (and every single person in the audience) by adding a certain CSI from Central City to compete for Oliver's heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oliver Queen, The Bachelor

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fan fiction ever, I would love to read your thoughts about it. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

"You put me in this mess now you take me out of it!" Oliver Queen was mad. Really, really mad. His face was red, his voice was raised, he was pointing accusingly to his sister with fire in his eyes.  
"Oliver, calm down."  
"Calm down? Thea, you signed me up on a reality TV show! This is ridiculous!"  
He had received the call from the producer Kyle Jenkins a few hours earlier, Oliver had grunted a suspicious 'Hello?' from the unknown number, half expecting it to be one of his many enemies, the first thing Jenkins said was a enthusiastic hello, the man was as happy as a child on Christmas morning, the yell almost hurt Oliver's ears.  
"It isn't. And if you watched it with me all the times I asked you to you would have liked it too."  
"For heaven's sake, I told the man I would think about it, but I'm not doing it."  
Oliver turned his back on her and was about to make his dramatic exit when his sister's voice froze him on the spot.  
"Ollie, this is going to be great for your future political campaign."  
"This is why you are want me to go on television and date a bunch of women for all the world to see? To be elected?"  
From the couch, Thea fidgeted with the sleeves of her flannel shirt, avoiding her brother's gaze. She cleaned her throat. "It would be a... bonus if you found the love of your life there. It would do amazing things for you, you've been alone for such a long time and frankly Ollie, it's sad," she met his stare now, his heart broke with the sincerity on her face. "I love you and I wanna see you happy, if not by finding the perfect woman then by getting your popularity up and becoming the mayor of Star City. Even better if both happen."  
It was true, Oliver's love life was non-existent. One night stands with pretty and forgetful girls he met at Verdant now and then didn't count. His last relationship had been before the island, with Laurel. He still loved her, but not in that way. She became a strong and trusted partner and a loyal friend. Oliver was already certain he was going to end up alone, if he ends up alive that it. Some criminal could end up killing him on one of the many Green Arrow missions. Yeah, Oliver wasn't an optimistic, and it wasn't a secret.  
He wasn't mad anymore, his anger had vanished and he was starting to see the point of Thea's logic. "I can't go, I have a city to take care of."  
"A city that John, Speedy and Black Canary can keep safe while you're gone. Besides, the city never been safer than now, we can handle it Ollie."  
He knew it was true, after bringing Thea back to life things have been almost peaceful in Star City. And his team had proved they didn't need Ollie to function, they were great on their own.  
Watching his resolve crumble a little, she said it almost like a whisper. "Mom would want you to."  
"What?"  
Thea cleaned her throat and spoke, louder this time. "Mom would want you to do this. For you, Oliver Queen and for you, Green Arrow."  
"I don't know, I..."  
"Do it Ollie, call Mr. Jenkins back. Please."  
The man sighed deeply and fished his phone out of his pocket, Thea smiled with victory and got up. "I'll get the champagne."  
"I'm not celebrating."  
"But I am, Diggle owns me fifty bucks, he said you wouldn't do it even if it would turn out to be a good thing to you."  
Oliver was shocked into silence.  
"Diggle is involved in this?" The ring of his phone saved Thea from answering.  
"Hello? Mr. Queen! Have you thought about it? What do you say?"  
With a strained voice, he muttered. "I'll do it. But I have some questions."  
Thea chuckled and sipped her drink, grinning wildly at Oliver that was currently shaking his head in disbelief. Where was he getting himself into? Oliver walked towards the balcony, out of Thea's earshot, and leaned against the wall.  
"Sure, sure, fire away! What do you wanna know?"  
"I would like to know what exactly I'm supposed to do. I admit I'm not exactly a sitting on the sofa and watch reality TV kind of person."  
The man laughed at little too enthusiastically. "Don't worry Mr. Queen, all you need to do is to take beautiful women to the best dates of their lives." Oliver decided not to tell the man he wasn't the go out in a date kind of guy too. The few dates he actually had were with Laurel, and it was many years ago. "You'll spend time with them and see what happens from there. Cameras will be around, but not in every occasion."  
Oliver decided to ignore the meaning in that. "I don't want to marry anyone."  
"You definitely aren't obligated to marry! You can simply choose the one to keep dating, it happened before. Don't worry, Mr. Queen, we are doing our best to select only the best for you."  
That made Oliver uncomfortable, the man sounded like he was talking about food or objects, not people. This wasn't a good idea, at all. But they wouldn't make him do anything he didn't want to. They couldn't.  
"When can you send the contract to my lawyers?" Oliver massaged his temples with his fingers, his eyes closed.  
"Oh! Right away, just give me their email, if you would!" Mr. Jenkins was annoyingly joyful, what made Oliver's mood only darker. He passed the email to the man and ended the call with the man talking mid sentence. If he wanted to know more he would call, now was time to think.  
Staring straight ahead into the beauty of the nightlife in Star City, Oliver Queen laughed. It was a short, but a real laugh. He could only hope this was going to end well.

* * *

He was training in the foundry, he hadn't trained like that in ages. The amount of sweat was making his skin shine against the pale light. He was finishing his salmon ladder time when John walked in, throwing a bag of big Belly Burger on a desk. "Thought you'd be hungry."  
Oliver breathed heavily, then washed his hands and sat with Diggle. "You have no idea." He took one burger and devoured it within seconds.  
"Just heard the news. The Bachelor, huh?" The glint in John's eyes almost made Oliver not reply.  
"Thea made me do it, but the more I think about it, maybe it isn't that much of a terrible idea. Still, a bad idea though."  
John smiled. "It's good, man. I'm glad you're doing it."  
"You know I won't find a wife there, John. And how could I bring her to this life?"  
John drank his beer and thought for a second. "There's a chance you do find her, Oliver. You can't be scared of love for the rest of your life, you need to take risks because they'll pay off. Having a loved one to come home to, having a daughter, there's nothing that compares to that. I know you long for a relationship like that so dive head first in this reality show, man."  
"I don't know if I can... care about someone that way again. After the island and being the Arrow." Oliver admitted.  
"I believe you can, you need to believe in it too. You deserve it, Oliver. After all the shit we've been through you deserve to be happy, and marry, and have kids, the full package. I know you don't believe it yet, but I know you will. Just let me know when you do."  
"You'll be the first I'll call." Oliver smiled a bit.  
"So when you're going?"  
"Still have two months. Take care of the city while I'm gone, if anything bad happens tell me and I'll come running."  
"You'll sign a contract Oliver, you can't do that. And we'll be fine, don't worry. Go find yourself a wife."  
There was silence for two seconds than both men laughed at the absurdity of it.

* * *

Oliver Queen had confronted criminals of all sorts, had fought powerful men and woman and barely escaped alive. But all of that wasn't nothing comparing to the nervourness he was feeling now. Fighting and shooting arrows was easy, he had trained a lot, he knew it by heart. But this? This was crazy and totally new and unexpected, it was nerve-wracking and he still couldn't believe this was his life. Oliver Queen, The Bachelor.  
First of all, it was cold. And an extremely awkward situation. He wished he wasn't wearing just a suit, but he didn't have a say in what he would could wear now. It was annoying. He thought of Laurel and Thea at the airport with him, saying their goodbyes and wishing him good luck. He was gonna need all the luck he could get, he was about to meet the bachelorettes after all.  
Mr. Jenkins (he insisted in being called just Kyle) had assured him they made several personality tests with the girls and they believed they all would impress him. He hoped so. He had two months to watch a few seasons of the show and get familiar with it, what only made him even more nervous.  
The host came and chit-chatted with him for a bit but already went inside, he had received confirmation the first girl was on her way. He would meet every one of them and after it, he would have to give a rose to the one that caused the best impression. He would give other seventeen girls a rose, seven girls would be empty handed and would come back to their homes.  
Oliver had dated more than two girls at the same time in his spoiled rich boy days, but not one of them knew about each other. Now he was about to date twenty five at the same time and they all would know about each other. And live together. God, just thinking about all the drama that was going to happen made his head started aching. He hoped there wouldn't be a lot of fights.  
Oliver watched as the limo got close, he tried not to pay attention to the cameraman and focus on the vehicle.  
A beautiful girl in a red dress came out, making Oliver get stunned by her beauty. Her long dark hair wasn't covering her long, gorgeous neck.  
"I'm Oliver, I'm pleased to meet you." He took her hand and kissed it, she smiled at him, fire and wilderness in her eyes.  
"My name is Helena Bertinelli and I'm so glad I'm the first girl to meet you because now they all will have to live up to my standards." Whoa, cocky much? Oliver thought. But she was a bit right, she was intriguing and the arrogance in her smile strangely compelled him. "I'm from Star City too, can you imagine? I very much intend to be in this for a long time, I want to know you better, Oliver. I think we can get intimate real fast."  
That one was bold, he had to give her that. He swallowed hard. "I'm excited to get to know all of you."  
Apparently he said something wrong because Helena just smiled tightly and climbed up the steps to the house, leaving him to wonder more about her.  
The next girls were a bit shy but very pretty. Darya, Pauline, Ann, Caitlin, Blair. They were all promising. He was starting to think this might actually work, maybe, just maybe, he will find the one that will be right for him.  
Then came Felicity. He was trying to remember the names of the girls and match it with their faces but he couldn't remember them right, but his thoughts vanished when the blonde girl wearing glasses walked out of the limo in a black dress.

* * *

Blair poured herself a glass of champagne and raised it to the other women in the living room. "To the hot and handsome Oliver Queen! Yay!" she drank it all in one gulp. Caitlin just looked at her with an eyebrow raised.  
"Drink more, there's plenty." Helena said, offering more to the girl from Texas that accepted it eagerly.  
"This is awkward, isn't it?" Ann said, her arms crossed over her chest. "We all will be going in dates with the same man."  
"I had dates with the same man as my sister." Pauline commented, making everyone look at her. "What? We don't mind to share."  
"This is nuts, why I applied in the first place?" Caitlin murmured to herself in the corner.  
"Because he's hot, rich and probably amazing in bed." Pauline answered, making Helena smile and Blair nod while pouring herself another drink.

* * *

"Whoa, you're gorgeous." The girl said to him, then her eyes widened, noticing she had said aloud her thoughts. "Sorry, I didn't mean that." Seeing Oliver's confused expression she laughed nervously, "I mean, you are gorgeous but I'm sorry I said that, because the pictures don't do you justice you are far much beautiful in person and those muscles, oh god! Did I say that about the muscles out loud too? I-I think I gonna shut up now. Right now."  
Oliver stared at her then laughed, a good, sincere laugh. She laughed too, a little embarrassed.  
"What's your name?"  
"My name is Felicity, and you're not going to believe this but I'm actually an IT girl at your company."  
"You work for Queen Consolidated? You work for me? I can't believe it!"  
"I know right! I couldn't possibly imagine they would call me for an interview after I applied for this show and now I'm here!" She giggled. "I've worked for you company for a few years now and it's the best job ever."  
"I'm glad you like it." He was stunned. One of the girls was one of his employees, what were the odds? Thinking back on it, he did notice a strange look on Mr. Jenkins eyes last month when he talked briefly with Oliver that the auditions were going extremely well. Maybe that's what the man had planned to throw Oliver off his game. It almost worked.  
"Welcome, Felicity, I hope we can talk more later."  
"Oh, yes, sure, let's talk." She smiled and hugged him so fast he only saw a blonde bur come and go. He would usually hate to be hugged by strangers (or even by people he loved, to be honest) but he didn't mind. That was a good sign.  
She went into the house and Oliver smiled to the night, waiting for the limo to arrive with another bachelorette.  
Elissa was nice but a bit too handsy, touching his chest and arms while talking, Neda kept her distance and was extremely polite, what Oliver liked a lot, the Indian girl was very pretty. Patty was a cop and Oliver got his guard up the moment she said it, even though she looked harmless enough. There's no way she would connect him with the Green Arrow, he didn't have to be paranoid. But that little alarm going off in his head continued even after the girl climbed the steps to get to the house and he welcomed Tiana.  
Apple made him forget about it because of her name. She made a poor joke about it with saying she was the Forbidden Fruit that made him fake smile but besides that, she liked her.  
"It's a blast to finally meet you!" She kissed him on the cheek, momentarily freezing him on the spot. " I'm Rebecca and I live here in LA, I just graduated, I'm an actress and I'm 24 years old and I'm so happy to finally be here with you, Ollie." He smiled politely, he didn't like when people called him Ollie, only loved ones could do that. But she looked amazing and sincere enough so he let it pass.  
"I'm happy to be here too."  
"I know you've dated actresses before but please don't compare those relationships to ours just because of our profession." He was surprised, he didn't know they already had a 'relationship'. "I won't, don't worry."  
"Great! Time to meet the girls, I'm so excited."  
Rebecca went, heels clapping happily after her. Oliver just shook his had a little, this was the most insane night of his life. 

* * *

Rebecca entered the living room, checking out the competition, eyeing each girl from head to toe, barely stopping a second to look at Blair that was in a corner, her face read as a tomato, a glass in hand. Her arrogance and distaste for the others was evident for the girls. Some of them were in pairs or groups talking and looking at her and going back at their conversations, throwing her death stares.  
"Sit." Helena said, patting the spot next to her on the couch.  
Rebecca sat and opened her purse, looking for her make up."This is going to be a long night."  
"Indeed. These girls are such a bore."  
"I figured the moment I looked them over," Rebecca replied smiling. "Specially that one." She inclined her chin in Caitlin's direction.  
"The doc? Yeah. Just ignoring the drunk girl, she gets drunker by the minute. Thinking about it, it's actually fun." Helena grinned diabolically.  
"Girl, I like you." Rebecca said, applying more red lipstick. "And I thought I wouldn't like any of the girls. I can't wait for Oliver to come here."

* * *

There were too many of them, he couldn't possibly remember all their names, but he remembered a few, the ones that caused more impression. Kiera's dark skin contrasted perfectly with her yellow dress. Nyssa was fiery and mysterious. Indra was a personal trainer, they talked about weight lifting for an entire minute before he made himself stop and ask more about her. Then, Marie and Suzane. The house was getting crowded, he could hear laughter and conversation, if he didn't know better he would think the atmosphere inside was warm and friendly. But he did know better, he had marathoned a few seasons with Thea after all.

* * *

Caitlin, Patty, Ann and Suzane were in a group chatting happily. Ann sharing stories about her dogs and Suzane about her cat Mr. Paws Paws. Caitlin actually liked these girls so far, she expected they wouldn't gossip about each other and try to sabotage each other's dates with Oliver.  
Thinking back, she should've realized something was wrong the moment she saw Blair take off her heels and throw them away, hair disheveled and bottle in hand. But she didn't think much of it and her attention was back on Mr. Paws Paws peeing on Suzane's pillow.  
"I need to see him."  
"Then he goes and does it on my nightstand too, do you believe it?" Suzane was telling, earning a laugh from Patty.  
"I need to talk to him." Caitlin looks over her shoulder to see Blair heading to the door.  
"Hey, you can't go out there, we need to wait for him here." Pauline said, holding Blair's shoulder.  
"No, I need to-to see Oliver... kiss him." She was shit faced drunk. "Touch those biceps! Just imagine." she giggled and hiccuped at the same time.  
"C'mon honey, sit down and drink some water, you'll be fine in a moment." Caitlin intervened, taking a glass of water and taking it to the girl that was arguing with Pauline.  
"You don't understand, I need Oliver, I've loved him for years!" She made a move to the door but Pauline was faster and grabbed her. 'You will interfere with the show!"  
"Let her go." Helena said and Rebecca laughed at her, both raising their champagne glasses and touching them, then laughing some more.  
"Let go of me!" Blair said and pushed the arm Pauline was holding back. That was a sad move for Caitlin that was behind the girl with a glass of water ready.  
Blair elbowed the glass, making all the water splash into Caitlin's dress, making every girl exclaim in horror.  
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Blair said turning and looking apologetically at Caitlin.  
"I-I'm gonna try to dry it." Caitlin said, her hands shaking.  
"I'll help." Patty said, leading the other to the bathroom.  
"That was funny." Rebecca said loudly, gaining stares. "What? It was."

* * *

Camille was a stunning red-head in an emerald dress. Oliver heard a commotion back at the house but the second the woman was out of the vehicle his attention was grabbed. She looked like a goddess.  
"My name is Camille, I'm 31 years old, I'm from New York and I'm a businesswoman." She extended her hand for him to kiss, an opal ring on her finger. Oliver immediately took it and kissed it gently.  
"I'm glad you are here, Camille."  
"The pleasure is mine. I expect to find not only love here but also a partner, a best friend, a loyal man. I know it's too soon, but I hope you enjoy my company, Oliver."  
His smile was genuine. "And I hope you enjoy mine. Make yourself at home. You look lovely tonight."  
"Thank you." and she wasn't there and he could finally breath. He wasn't ready to meet all these great woman all in one night.  
After the forgetful coming and going of Janette, came Linda, a cheerful girl with a great smile even thought Oliver thought she was a bit too young.  
The limo came quickly this time, and another blonde girl came out of it. She looked at him directly in the eyes and he was mesmerized, he couldn't look away.  
He approached the woman this time. "Good evening, I'm Oliver, what's your name?"  
"Hi Oliver, I'm Sara."  
"Sara," he tasted the name in his mouth and she smiled. A mix of arrogance, fire and shyness in her face. He liked it instantly. Of course he did. The production picked them all really well, he felt bad for not trusting the man earlier. "And what do you do and where you live?"  
"I live in Opal City with my brother and I sell guns."  
"Excuse me?"  
Sara laughed. "I knew that would be your reaction. Don't worry, I sell them legally."  
"That's very interesting, Sara. I look forward to our time later."  
"Me too." He felt suddenly awkward, like he were meant to kiss her before she goes in the house. But one second later Sara just smiles and waves at him before heading to the mansion.  
Oliver sighs, feeling already exhausted. Only three more to go.

* * *

Caitlin and Patty arrive in the living room to find it more crowded than it was when they left it. There was the group of fake but extremely beautiful, the nice and shy, the confident and talkative and the drunk, that consisted of Blair and Janette. Next is Diana, she arrives in the room looking like a deer in the headlights, she says one hi for everyone and heads for one of the few available seats on the sofa.  
Most girls were talking about Oliver and what they knew about him from the internet. "I wouldn't take anything we read in the internet about him under consideration. Let's meet the man, in person, and see how he truly is." Sara said, Felicity nodding in agreement.  
"I had only seen him once."  
"You saw him? Wait, you live in Star City?" Ann asked, her thin nose raised high.  
"I actually work for him."  
"What?!"  
"OMG"  
"What the hell?"  
"Calm down, I'm the IT girl for his company. Tonight was the first time we actually talked."  
"I don't believe her." someone whispered audibly while another bachelorette made her way into the living room.  
"That is so unfair, she has a vantage over us." Janette commented with Ann that said nothing. Felicity saw some of the girls shaking her heads.  
"Great start, Felicity. Great way to make everyone like you." the blonde said to herself, heading towards the wall and pushing the curtain to the side. "Oh. My. F-ing. Christ. I can't believe it!"  
Her bewilderment instantly attracted the attention of the crowd that hurried to Felicity's side to spy on what was happening like a pack of chicken running towards a pocketful of corn. They all exclaimed in shock.  
"Is this happening?" Linda's disbelieving voice was dripping off confusion. No one was able to say a word.

* * *

After Lydia entered the house, the host came back with yet another cameraman. His smile a little mischievous. "Well, well Oliver, the night is going great until now, don't you think?"  
"Absolutely," he smiled to the camera. "The ladies are taking my breath away."  
"Of course you are! They are lovely! But we have one more for you."  
"Really? I thought it was over."  
"No, we got one more to go and this one is special."  
"I'm interested." Oliver smiled, puzzled.  
"I'll leave you now." the host said and vanished as Oliver heard the limo approach.  
The limo was driving really slow. Dramatically so. Oliver doubted he would be surprised. He had never been so wrong in his life.  
His thoughts turned to jelly when a man stepped out of the vehicle. He was tall, lanky and brown-haired. He was wearing a fancy black suit. Oliver half waited for a girl to come out and be escorted to him by the guy but the limo drove away and Oliver couldn't stop staring.  
The guy had pianist fingers and a long neck. Crap, Oliver realized he was checking him out, because that was what he did with the bachelorettes. Oliver wasn't into men, so it shocked him so much that they would throw in a male participant in the mix that he was frozen on the spot, his mouth half open.  
The guy approached hesitantly, hands in his pockets, eyes as round and shy as a puppy. "Hm, h-hi. I'm Barry." he extended his hand, Oliver lowered his gaze and didn't know what to do for a second. Then he cleared his throat and they shook hands.  
"Hi, I'm Oliver, nice to meet you."  
"Is it really?"  
"What?"  
"Is it nice to meet me? You seem kinda shocked." Barry was nervous, he was looking away from Oliver, uncomfortable. Oliver didn't want the younger man to feel out of place.  
"Sorry, it just got me by surprise. Where do you live, Barry?"  
Barry smiled and it was an event. His whole face smiled with him. "I'm from Central City and I'm an forensic scientist."  
"Really? I'm impressed."  
"Yes! And it's an incredible job, to be out there helping the police to catch bad guys, you know? It's a feeling that never leaves you. You are making his world a better place and knowing it was because of your efforts that someone won't get assaulted or killed, because you caught the guy and prevented it to go any further. I think that is the best feeling in the world."  
Oliver was mesmerized. Barry understood that too, but he couldn't tell him how much he related to what the scientist had said.  
"And Big Belly Burgers filling your stomach. The two best feelings in the world." Oliver laughed at that, relaxing.  
Barry's smile went away and he asked, his face serious, a crease on his forehead. "Is it going to be a problem for me to be here? 'Cause if you want I can leave right now."  
"No! It's okay, don't worry about it. Hm, I've never... dated a guy before."  
Barry nodded in silent. "We can see how it goes."  
Barry's smile was too bright like it had it's own light. Oliver felt the urge to smile back, but for the first time in the night he felt embarrassed and didn't.  
"I should get inside, right?"  
"Right, we'll talk later."  
"Okay." with one last smile, the boy turned and went into the house. Oliver kept staring at the air where Barry stood.  
So... that happened.  
One of the interns told him they were filming the reactions of the girls inside before Oliver could come in and talk to them. Oliver could imagine how much the production was enjoying what's going on in the house now with Barry in it. Barry. The man grunted and covered his face with his hands, he couldn't have prepared for it even if he knew what was coming.  
Oliver felt bad for making it awkward and making the boy think he wanted him gone. He was so confused, Oliver wasn't homophobic, he just never thought of himself dating a guy. It was a lot to take in. But Barry was interesting. He wanted to know the cases he worked on, all about his work and what made him want to become a forensic scientist to begin with. And he was handsome. The thought made him wanna hide his face again. Oliver wasn't like other guys that pretend they don't notice that other guys are handsome. Guys just didn't hold his attention or made him feel attracted.  
He didn't know if could be attracted to Barry, his head was a mess. Being the Green Arrow was far more easy than this.

* * *

By the time Barry walked in the living room every girl was quiet and on the sofas, most of them throwing knives with their eyes at him.  
"Okay, I just gonna say this: any of you knew Oliver was bi?" Felicity said after raising her hand in the air and waving it a little.  
Then chaos. All of them started talking at the same time.  
"We're screwed."  
"I can't believe this!"  
"I'm going home!"  
"He's cute though."  
"That's unfair!"  
"Actually," Barry said and everyone looked at him, 'There are just one dude and how many of you? The odds are better for a girl winning his heart."  
Felicity and Patty laughed, and a few others but must remained silent.

* * *

"This is bull shit!" Elissa said to the confessional later, looking tired but still fully awake. She dries her already dry eyes with Kleenex. "They should have told us!"

* * *

Barry told he would be automatically a pariah among the bachelorettes but that's not what happened. Felicity, Marie, Linda, Patty and Blair hanged around him, asking him a million questions and looking nice enough. The girls that weren't nice were in a group in the other side of the living room, talking in whispers and stealing glances at him.  
"Are you gay?" Blair asked, the other women rolling their eyes at her.  
"I'm bi, to be honest." he answered looking at them all, a bit uncomfortable with the attention. Blair smiled at him, still drunk, and started twirling her hair in her finger.  
"Good to know."  
"I can't believe you're from Central City too." A beautiful brown-haired woman said, approaching Barry. "I work at STAR labs."  
His mouth made an O "You're kidding right?"  
"Nope"  
"I'm the biggest Harrison Wells fan! Once, he autographed my copy of his biography."  
"He is a genius."  
"Helena, do you think if I had a cock my odds with Oliver would increase?" Rebecca asked out of the blue on the sofa, loud enough for them to hear. That wasn't the first time she had provoked him.  
"In your case, not even that would help you." Barry said wish a tight smile.  
"What did you say, ugly stick?" Rebecca was furious, burning him alive with her eyes.  
"Apart from a questionable fashion taste do you also have a hearing disfunction?"  
Felicity spat the drink that just had touched her lips on the air, not faking her laugh well.  
"Who this fag thinks he is?!" Rebecca exclaimed and Helena said something in her ear that made her close her eyes and breathe deeply.  
Barry and almost all the girls raised her eyes and looked with disgust to Rebecca and her homophobic words.

* * *

"That little pinhead!" Rebecca kept on cursing, but her words were engulfed by a long beep. "...and Helena calmed me or I would have slapped him right there, no one talks about my fashion taste, it is flawless!"

* * *

"Barry's nailed it." Patty said to the camera, laughing with the memory. "I don't think anyone likes Rebecca, she's too arrogant and everybody hates homophobia."

* * *

"With you here, so close to me, I think I found my true love." Janette says, making Oliver regret his decision to have this one on one with her first. The woman had said a few sentences to him and now he was her true love. "Our time is over, I'm sorry, can you let the next girl know?"  
"Oh, sure. I'll do whatever you ask." She said and he couldn't even fake smile.

* * *

"I inherited the gun shop form my dad, the weaponry is all mine now." Sara said.  
"Should I be scared?" Oliver teased and they laughed.  
"I have a very good aim, Mr. Queen." She made a gun with her hand and pointed it at his chest, mimicking the act of taking a shot.  
"You got me right in the heart"  
"That was my intention."

* * * 

"I really like Oliver, I feel like we can be something more, something real you know." Sara talked with the camera like it was her friend. "And he is focused on me, I never had this. Of course, he's dating other twenty-three women. And a man. But he seems genuinely interested in what I got to say."

* * *

Helena tossed her hair to one side in a swift motion, exposing her collarbone. Oliver's eyes went immediately to it, accidently remembering Barry's neck and how it caught his attention too, he clears his throat, confused. "Did any of them did it?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Lived up to my standards." She said with a wink. He would dislike her if she didn't have this... aura around her. He was a little bewitched.  
"Each one was promising in their own way."  
"I bet." she was getting closer on the bench to him, inclining her lips towards him. Oliver moved one inch away, she caught the meaning and did the same. 

* * *

"I will have him." Helena was in the confessional. "It's just a matter of time and I'm a patient woman."

* * *

"What do you want in a relationship?"  
"I want someone that completes me. That will be there when I need him to, that is loyal and can watch six hours straight of Netflix with me and not complain." Felicity replied, pushing her glasses up her nose. "That wouldn't be a problem, Ms. Smoak. How do you like it in my company?"  
"I absolutely love it, boss!" She put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was weird, you're not my boss! I mean, you are but it's weird calling you that."  
Oliver smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's funny when your mouth runs faster than your brain."

* * *

"What do you think of Barry?" Linda asks Nyssa, they are on the waiting line to use the bathroom.  
"He seems nice. And real. Unlike some girls here."  
"I wonder how Oliver is dealing with the fact he is going to date a man, too."  
"I wouldn't worry about it," Nyssa replied, bored. 'If he doesn't want him here he will not give him a rose tonight."  
"You are right. Oliver needs to do what he thinks is right for him."  
"Yeah... whatever."  
Blair walked out of the bathroom, looking awful. "What is this smell?" Linda complained.  
"I was puking." Blair answered matter-of-factly.

* * *

More than half of the girls already had gotten their one on one time with Oliver, Barry was chatting with Caitlin, Marie and Diana when Oliver walked in. He looked at Barry and his eyes didn't waver, making the scientist blush. "I'm sorry to intrude in your talk but I need to talk with the gentleman." Oliver said, Kiera gasped, being the first to realize Oliver was holding a rose.  
Barry got up from his seat and Oliver guided him outside to the gardens. "It's beautiful here." he murmured, not really expecting an answer.  
"I know right, I think it's a special place."  
"The night makes it even more perfect. With the light of the moon upon them, it's almost magical." Now he was talking about magic light on flowers. He was nervous, so nervous. Oliver was handsome and the surrounding air shimmered with eletricity. He had to put his hands on his pockets or he would try to do something dumb as hold the older man's hand. His throat was dry.  
"I agree. I see you made some friends back there."  
"Some of them are great, but some are just..." He stopped talking. "Sorry, I don't want to taint your opinions of them. They are sweet girls. Mostly."  
Oliver relaxed. The night was beautiful, and it was good to be here with Barry, talking. It was easy to ignore the cameraman.  
"They are not your type then," Barry gave him a confused look. "Girls, I mean."  
"Oh, actually, I'm bi. I'm not expert on it though."  
"On what?"  
"Romance." He paused. "I never actually dated. You must have had a thousand dates, but I'm not used to this, what to do, what to say. It's all new to me."  
"Me too."  
"You're joking right?" Barry was honestly chocked. "But you are Oliver Queen! I've had a crush on you for years an-"  
"You did?"  
Barry blushed, Oliver felt something twist in his stomach. The scientist looked away. "I mean, I-I do. I still have a major crush on you."  
"That's why you came here?"  
Oliver liked how Barry took his time thinking before answering the question.  
"I came because there's something missing in my life. You ever get that feeling? You miss something that you never had and you need it so bad, and you just know that when you finally have it, you will be whole. I think in my case it might be a relationship, Iris is sure it is."  
"Who's Iris?" Oliver says before thinking better of it. Did he sound a bit jealous? He hoped he didn't... it would be crazy for him to feel that way, wouldn't it?  
The younger man smiled thinking of her. He smiled a lot, it was amazing to see.  
"Iris and I grew up together. After my mom died I moved in with Joe and Iris. They are the best family I could possibly wish on having. Joe is a good cop, and a even better man. Iris is a journalist and I love her like a sister."  
"I'm sorry to hear about your mom." He involuntarily gets closer to the boy.  
"Yeah... it was a long time ago." Barry said, looking down, clearly in pain. Oliver felt bad, not being able to help Barry, to make him feel better. He changed the subject. "I'm sorry If I made you feel uncomfortable earlier, Barry."  
"You had no idea what was coming, it's understandable. If you don't want me here, I can go now, no hard feelings. Do what's best for you Oliver."  
"Barry, I want you to stay," he did. "I want to ask you something."  
"Yeah, sure."  
"Would you accept this rose?" Oliver shows him the rose, Barry's eyes widened at the sigh.  
"Why me?"  
"I liked you, simple as that. You surprised me, you grabbed my attention, and I would like for you to stay in the show."  
"In that case... thank you, I accept it, of course." Barry took the rose and tried really hard not to grin. His efforts lasted for almost three seconds.

* * *

Barry walked in to an icy welcome. They were panicking, he had the rose. The dude got the rose. Two of them were actually crying, one was staring unblinkingly to a wall. Oliver took Nyssa out and the chaos began. The bachelorettes were talking too loud and at the same time accusing everyone, him, Oliver, the production, and even accusing themselves. It was a nightmare.  
Felicity showed up by his side. He remembered her name because she was one of the nice girls.  
"You made quite the impression, huh? I figured he would give it to you. I don't know why they are acting like this, it's not the end of the world."  
"I'm flattered. He is too..."  
"Perfect?" She finished the sentence.  
"So far, yes, he is." Barry smiles, his ears heating up.

* * *

"I almost walked out of the house and went looking for a cab at two in the morning because of it." Darya said, drinking from a glass of orange juice. "I can't believe Barry got the first rose, why am I doing here if Oliver is gay?"

* * *

"I bet he sucked him off behind some bushes," Rebecca told angrily at the camera. "Barry is disgusting. I'll have my chance with Oliver too."

* * *

"It was actually funny," Helena grinned. "All the girls panicking over it and I was watching it all burn to the ground while adding some fuel the fire."

* * *

"Yes, I'm calm. If Oliver liked me he will keep me, there's nothing to be afraid of as long as he doesn't fire me." Felicity giggled. "That would be bad."

* * *

"Why am I even doing here?" Marie was talking to herself.  
"Because you're as dumb as a door." Lydia answered the question, venom dropping of her fangs for the first time. "We're all stupid too, I'm 70¨% sure we are being pranked.  
"What if I end up marrying him but he decides to leave me for a guy?" Marie was still in stupor.  
"What is that any worse than being left for a girl?" Suzane yells from the other side of the living room. "I think it's better for you to shut up before you say something stupid like other some people." Rebecca didn't waste her energy getting angry at Suzane when the woman looked at her intently.  
"Let's go outside," Felicity suggests.  
"Great idea." Barry and Felicity make her way to the front steps and sit on them, a moment later Patty joins them, a bottle of wine in hand, which they share in silence for a while.  
"I can't stand those girls," Patty grunts. "They are everything I despise together in one body."  
"They're bitches. Not all, but at least half of them." Felicity adds.  
"Too much drama, Oliver is missing the best part of his own show." Barry says and they laugh in unison.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Oliver was a bit worried. The woman took six seconds to answer. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just drank a little. I'm Blair, how are you?"  
"I know dear, you are telling me your name for the third time now."  
"Oh, sorry!" She hiccuped and laughed. "Can you kiss me?"  
Oliver didn't have an answer, he just looked at her. "Please? I even brushed my teeth."  
"Why?"  
"I puked in the bathroom, but shh don't tell anyone." She put a finger in front of her mouth and hiccuped again.  
"Nice. C'mon, let's see the others."

* * *

It was time for the first rose ceremony. The bachelorettes (and Barry) were lined up and waiting. The vigilante was happy with his choices, he didn't care who the producers would want him to pick, he would do this by himself. And once again, he was nervous and trying to remember all the names of the girls he just met was difficult.  
His eyes drifted to Barry, the boy was holding his rose but looking serious. When the boy noticed he was being watched, he gave one of his thousand watts smiles, which Oliver returned.  
It was time. The host, Dave, appeared out of thin air. "Ladies... and gentleman, this is the first rose ceremony. Barry got the first impression rose. Seventeen more roses will be given, unfortunetely, seven of you will go home. Oliver, you can begin now."  
Oliver reached the table and took the first rose. "Felicity." the girl looked surprised, she smiled and walked towards the man. "Will you accept this rose?"  
She smelled it when he gave it to her. "Of course."  
"Helena." Heels clicking, she walked towards him and accepted the rose.  
"Sara, will you accept this rose?"  
"Always."  
He called more girls, their faces turning to nervous and afraid to relaxed and happy. Diana. Nyssa. Caitlin. Marie, Tiana.  
"Patty," The cop walked to him, hands behind her back but a sweet smile on her lips. "Will you accept this rose?"  
"Yes, thank you." She held it to her heart before coming back to her spot. Oliver called for Camille, Linda, Elissa, Apple and Ann. The girls left were counting the remaining roses. Only three, but ten girls standing. Janette was crying quietly. Indra and Lydia were next, their smiles weren't as huge as the girls that were picked first.  
Dave showed up. "Ladies, this is the final rose. Choose with your heart, Oliver."  
Barry grimaced at the name. "Rebecca. Will you accept this rose?"  
"Always and forever." She winked and came back to her place, eyeing each girl.  
Janette, Blair, Kiera, Suzane, Darya, Pauline and Neda were sent home. Pauline couldn't stop crying, Suzane asked Oliver to take her back and the rest made their way out quietly after Oliver said his goodbyes and apologized. Blair tripped on her feet and almost fell face first, she only didn't because Dave was near and took her arm, steadying the woman.

* * *

"It's so hard to find a good man, and he didn't even gave us a chance..." Kiera sobbed in front of the camera, shaking her head. "I really thought this was it, that I would finally find my husband. I hope he finds the girl that makes him happy for life. Or guy. Whatever."

* * *

"He's a spoiled man, he is vain and only thinks about himself. These girls are going to suffer with him," Pauline said bitterly. "I'm happy I got out before it was too late, I see clearly now."

* * *

"Can I sleep now?" Blair is almost laying on the chair, her speech was slurring and somehow another glass of wine was on her hand. "Someone gets me some Advil please."

* * *

Oliver was led to his room by an intern. He was drained. He got into the shower and let the hot water run down his head and back. What a night. He had so much to think about but he couldn't particularly think about one topic in specific because another one would pop in too.  
Barry was a constant in his mind. The surprise, the wild card. It was too much for him right now, he went to bed in his boxers. And they had to would travel tomorrow. He grunted.  
The fact that he wanted his first date to be with Barry made him open his eyes in the darkness of the room. What did that meant? He wanted to learn more about the younger man, he wanted to see him smile again.  
It was too late for those thoughts, too late and he was too tired. Oliver closed his eyes and in seconds was heavy asleep.


End file.
